The Summoning Of Byakko According to Tokaki
by Tokaki
Summary: The story of the summoning of Byakko, told very much from Tokaki's POV. Rated for...well, Tokaki being Tokaki, as well as Violence and Language. Please read and review. Chapter 2 Added! I live again!
1. Prologue: After and Before

DISCLAIMER: This is the prologue to a story...a VERSION of what COULD have happened to the seven BYAKKO SHICHISEISHI, and their MIKO. I don't own Tokaki, Tatara, Subaru, or Suzuno. I believe that distinction goes to Studio Perriot and TVTokyo. And to whoever published the original Manga, as well as Watase Yuu herself. These characters are from the Fushigi Yuugi series, and if you've never read it or seen it, you're missing out.   
  
DISCLAIMER 2: This story has come about from many years of playing on various MOOs and MUSHs as one of the Byakko Seishi. I started originally as Karasuki, AKA Lee Pelham, on the now defunct Shijin. On the now defunct Maijin Chuuten and Three Wishes, I played as Tokaki. Now, at FushigiTouzai, I play as Tokaki once more. I'll be posting the website in Chapter 1, as soon as I figure out if I'm allowed. My versions of the 'Uncanon' seishi stem entirely from characters I've interacted with throughout my time as an RPer of Tokaki. I dedicate this story to them, and devoutly wish that if Watase Yuu should ever find herself bored one night, she finds this story, reads it, and uses some of them as her Karasuki, Toroki, Amefuri, and Kokie. This particular prologue stems from conversations and RP I've had with two of the best Subaru's I've ever seen played, Subaru@Shijin, and Subaru@FT.  
  
DISCLAIMER 3: This story will be told through the eyes of the old man in the prologue. As such, you have been warned. There will be violence, bad language, and possibly some other things that parents might not want you to see. Especially considering who one of the primary characters is.  
  
PROLOGUE: After 'The End' and before 'Once Upon A Time.'  
  
Watching him work in the garden made it difficult to tell that he was an older man. He moved quickly and easily through the rows, pulling out weeds with a strength that seemed much younger. When he had to stand, it was slowly, but still with an amount of grace that would be surprising, considering his true age.  
  
It was the hair. At least...now it was the hair. When he was younger, one look at his hair, and people would think he was a lot older. Bright white, it hung down in a ducktail at the back of his neck, with two long bangs at the far corner of each eye. And when he turned, then it was obvious he was not a young man. For the face that gazed out from under that peculiar hairstyle was wrinkled and lined with the worries of many, many years. He wore proudly a mustache and goatee, and his face carried the appearance of someone used to smiling. There was something about him, even now, an indescribable quality, a wildness to his features and his face. It could be his dark skin, it could be his hair, or the glint in his eyes, but there was something wild about him. He was clad in the work clothes of the desert, loose fitting, light and airy, yet they covered his whole body, and part of his face too, if he stood just right.  
  
Right now though, he was scowling in a very grumpy way at the children currently standing at his gate. "Dear!" He called sharply into the house, looking for all the world if he was calling someone to bring him a weapon to drive the children off. "They're here. Again." Someone at the back of the crowd giggled as a kind voice called out from the house. "Goodness. Is it that time already?"  
  
"You'd better get my pipe and some water." He called irritably, knowing without looking that the person he was calling to probably stood in the kitchen, already gathering the requested items, chuckling quietly to herself. He started walking towards a great tree near the gate to his property, a wide and leafy one that provided plenty of shade during the heat of the day. He paused about halfway there, glancing first to the elderly woman upon his porch with a smile on her face, then to the children, still at the gate. "Well? Come on. What are you waiting for?" He asked gruffly. The old woman caught his still golden eyes for a moment, her eyes twinkling merrily. For a moment, he studied her, as he had for many, many long years.  
  
She stood much shorter than he, but it was obvious from her face that their ages were very close. Age had filled her out, her once curvaceous body now more plump. But it was that happy sort of plumpness that comes to old women who have lived very good and happy lives. Her hair was as white as his, but longer, with two lengths of it done up in circles on the top of her head. She was no longer young, but she was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.  
  
He turned back to his walk towards the tree, settling with his back against it's rough warmth as the children who had never come to sit with him before approached nervously. By unspoken agreement, the new kids sat up front, and the ones who had heard it before sat at the back. Before the children sat down, one little girl, hiding behind an older boy, as though for protection, put her little hand up in the air, while eyeing the old man nervously with wide eyes. "S'it twue dat you're a seshi?" She asked softly, before ducking back behind the older boy.  
  
The old man's response was just to chuckle softly, his face softening. "I tell you what." He said, motioning for the girl to step forward towards him. "You're Xi-fan, right?" he asked, smiling as the girl stared at him, surprised that he knew her name. "Come have a seat in my lap, and I'll tell you the story. When it's over, you can decide for yourself what I am." He said with a smile, before accepting his pipe from his wife.  
  
The little girl complied, and soon all the children were settled in a loose semicircle before him, with his wife beside him, sitting on a blanket and working on her embroidery. The old man lit his pipe, and took a deep puff from it, before turning his attention to the children. "My story." He started softly. "Is a very important story. It's the story of how the Byakko no Miko came to Sairou-kotu, and called forth the power of Byakko to protect this land." He turned to smile at his wife for a moment, before continuing. "But the story doesn't begin there. It begins several years earlier, before the Byakko no Miko arrived." He paused here for a moment, regarding the children solemnly.  
  
"It begins very simply. It begins with a girl."  
  
***********  
  
The market was full that day, one of the last days of the week-long sale that came after every harvestime. It was busier than usual, as this had been an unusually good year for harvest. It seemed like everyone in all the four lands was there, so crowded did it appear. Farmers and craftsman haggled back and forth for goods and services, as well as coin from Konan, Hokkan, and Sairou. The people in the crowd were from all walks of life. Monks, soldiers, farmers, merchants, craftsmen, and nobles, and each was different, from the color and style of their clothing, to the way they wore their hair. It was an amazing array of color and culture. However, nothing out of the ordinary was happening there. For that, we have to look several blocks away.  
  
The street was mostly empty, as most of the people living on it were at the market. The reason it was not entirely empty was very clear, however. About midway down the street, there was a large field. A little old woman sat in a rocking chair on the back porch of a home that bordered the field, but she was fast asleep. The children she was supposed to be watching played on, as intent on having a good time as their parents were of getting a good deal in the marketplace. The boys played a rowdy game of ball in the field, while the girls sat along the sides, talking, gossiping, or working on something. It was a scene that can be found in all times and cultures.  
  
Except one boy. Perhaps he was a tad young to be wondering about things like this. Perhaps adult women watched his antics and shook their heads with a smile, remembering their youth. Perhaps fathers watched him warily, knowing that he spelled trouble. Whatever it was, this young boy, marked by his unusual white hair, was NOT playing with the other boys. No, instead, he spent his free time in more...creative pursuits.  
  
A small group of girls sat on a bench beneath a tree. Most of them were watching the boys play, talking about things that little girls have always found important, what's important in a future husband, fashion, toys, cooking, sewing, and what their parents were likely to buy them in the marketplace. They were perhaps a little older than the rest of the children, less given to play, and already starting to turn their minds towards more adult pursuits. The little boy sat against a wall, his golden eyes upon them, gleaming impishly. His regard turned to the tree the bench sat beside, and he grinned.  
  
Getting to his feet, he started to slowly make his way along the wall he was sitting against, keeping his eye on the bench as he edged to the side. Everyone was ignoring him, so wrapped up in their fun were they. Or, he thought everyone was ignoring him. He slide until he could no longer see the bench for the tree blocking it, and then slowly, casually, started forward towards the tree. This way, he figured, he'd be out of the view of the girls on the bench.  
  
It should be stated again that he thought everyone was ignoring him. There was one person watching him. She was small girl, probably no older than five, possessed of the same unusual white hair he had. She sat upon a porch, swinging her legs back and forth idly, her eyes slightly red and puffy. Her parents had told her not to play with the other children and get dirty, but that game of ball that the boys were playing looked fun. She was dressed in shiny silks, and had her hair done up so that most of it hung down, but some of it was pulled up to be two loops on top of her head, one on either side. She watched the boy because he was behaving very strangely.  
  
He continued to move towards the tree, his feet light and silent on the ground, and totally oblivious to the pair of grey-blue eyes upon him. He reached the tree, and stepped up towards it. Slowly edging around the tree, he looked once more at the girls sitting on the bench. They were much closer now, and his grin widened. His plan would work perfectly. He got down on the ground, and slowly started to work his way towards the bench, crawling underneath it. It was along the ground, and he had to move slowly, but he eventually made it to the bench. Sliding underneath it, he rolled over to look up. Yes, that's right, this whole effort was just to look up their dresses.  
  
It would be at this point that the screaming began. The boy had forgotten about one thing. When he rolled over, he failed to take into account the position of the girls' legs. So he hit one of their ankles with his shoulder. When one girl started screaming and lept up off the bench, the other girls looked down, saw the boy, and also lept up, screaming. His look of triumph faded, since he'd failed to actually see anything because of his own bad planning. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the girls run screaming across the field as the boy pulled himself up and started to brush the dirt from his body. Because this had put his back to the field, he failed to notice the parting of the crowd of children behind him.  
  
When the little white-haired girl realized what the boy was to, she leapt from the porch to the ground. She hadn't even started walking that way when the screaming began. Turning back to the porch, she grabbed the first thing her hand touched, and then started stomping across the field towards the boy. The other children, seeing her anger, moved away from her in awe, parting to either side of her.   
  
For the rest of his life, he will swear that he never heard her approach or felt it coming.  
  
Then it hit the back of his head.  
  
The boy sprawled out facedown along the ground, his head swimming more from the shock of being struck than from the force of the blow. Too stunned to move for the moment, he could only stare at the ground and pray to Byakko that it would stop moving in circles shortly. When it did, he rolled over onto his back and looked up. The sight that greeted his eyes was no less stunning. Looming over him in a way that only a five-year-old filled with righteous fury can, the girl pointed her finger at him, the other hand weighed down by a very small cast iron frying pan. She waggled her finger at him in a very chastizing manner, and said. "Dat wasn't nice." His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, as she put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.   
  
This went on for a few moments, but when the boy continued to stare at her, with his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water, the little girl became concerned. "'re you okay?" She asked, and when she received no response, her eyes started to tear up. "Uh oh." She said softly, her voice wavering. "I tink I broked him."  
  
"DOURIN!" Came a high pitched woman's voice, full of disappointed anger. The little girl's eyes went wide, and she turned, face full of fear, as her mother came up to her and grabbed her by the arm. "I thought I told you not to play with the other children and get all dirty!" The woman started to drag the little girl away from the children. "It's time for us to go now. Your father is waiting.  
  
Dourin did not put up much a fight against her mother, her eyes remaining worriedly upon the boy she'd hit. "I's sowwy!" She yelled, not to her mother, but to the boy. But her mother's strides took her far too quickly away for her to see the boy's mouth close, and his lips turn up in a rather mystified smile.  
  
"Dourin." He said softly.  
  
End. 


	2. Chapter 1: Friends

Well, here's Chapter 1. Please note the following. I do not own FY. I am writing this in the vain desire that Watase Yuu reads it and likes it enough to use ideas from it when she finally does the Byakko story. Which I firmly believe she will do, because Tatara, Tokaki, and Subaru are just that cool.  
  
I've gotten some comments on Subaru's name. Ok..one. From Hydra-star. :) So I'm only going to say this once. Subaru=Dourin. Subaru!= Doulin. Anyone who has studied any kinda anime/manga knows that the 'l' and 'r' sounds are pretty much interchangeable. (Which is why Tasuki's incantation has read in various fansubs both 'Lekka shinen' and 'Recca Shinen.') I think it's supposed to be more of a 'lr' sound than just 'r' or 'l'. So it may actually be Doulrin. (Try and say it. I think it may be pronounced more like 'Dole-reen'. I could be wrong. Anana-chan?) Besides. I think Dourin is a lot prettier of a name than Doulin. That...and Doulin brings back rather painful memories of 8th grade US History. So Dourin it is. 'Sides. The english translation of the FY Art book has it as Durin. :)  
  
Still considering different primary bad guy ideas for the Byakko seishi. If you've got something, or would like to make a suggestion, send a review here or email me at tokaki@kyrith.net.  
  
Chapter 1. Friends.  
  
It was the sort of day that the chill in the air cut right through to the bone, biting and harsh. Winter had come to the desert. And while it brought colder temperatures, it was no less dry than the full heat of summer. Which meant that the desert was still a desert, and the people who called it home knew how to survive. If they dwelled within the desert, as many tribes did, they knew to find shelter on the south side of rocks, to protect themselves from the winds that drove the cold deeper than it drove the sand. Those in the city stayed off the streets as much as possible, relying upon their harvest or stores to keep themselves warm and fed. Those who roamed the windswept roads of the city did so only if they had no choice, such as the weary traveller arriving late in the morning on that day.  
  
He was tall and slim, and walked through the streets bent over against the wind, staying as close to buildings as possible to shield himself. A hood covered his head, obscuring his face. His cloak billowed out behind him, though he tried without much success to keep it wrapped around him. A pack was slung over one shoulder, and he wore a long, heavy butternut colored robe, the wide collar obscuring his face and keeping his nose and lips protected from the bitter cold. His golden eyes were narrowed against the wind. "What a day to come back." He muttered to himself, strugging in vain with one hand to pull the hood over his white hair.  
  
His course took him deep into the city, his weary steps straight and true. He knew where he was going. He'd grown up in this part of town, though it had been many months since he was last here. The buildings that he passed weren't merely part of the background to him. They were old friends, and despite the bitter chill of the air, they were as comforting as a warm pair of shoes to him. It meant he was finally coming home.  
  
He turned the corner, his route taking him through a dark alleyway. "Hmm. It's not usually this dark." In fact, it was usually lit by lights from the windows of the shops and homes that the alley ran between, and was used as a frequent shortcut for people wishing to switch streets. He paused for amoment, frowning as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Halfway down the alley, there seemed to be some sort of commotion. He could not see what was going on, but a strange tension filled the air.  
  
The wind had all but disappeared, blocked almost entirely by the buildings that formed the alley. The white-haired man started down towards the commotion, the hairs on the back of his neck starting to rise. Why, he could not say, but he was still becoming alarmed. As he neared the group in the center of the alley, he found the source of the tension. "Well, that explains the reason for the darkness." He muttered to himself.  
  
Someone at the center of the group of men was being mugged. Or worse, but it was impossible to make out anything about the person being attacked. But it was clearly only one person, and they were surrounded by at least ten of the roughest looking men that had ever been seen in this part of Arudo, most armed with wooden clubs, but one, obviously the leader, bore a sword. "Hmm." The white-haired man said, this time a little louder, in an attempt to draw the attention of the thugs. "Ten against one seems hardly fair." He said, and as the men turned and spread out to deal with him, he got a glimpse of their target. His eyes widened for a moment.  
  
It was then that their leader chose to address him. "Beat it old man. This is none of your business. If you know what's good for you, you'll turn around now and forget you ever walked down this alley." With his words, the men started to loom around the newcomer, scowling in a menacing way.  
  
Lan-uan was ignoring all this though, instead his attention was focused on their opponent. He was a young man, probably between the ages of 17 and 23, with long black hair and a very gentle appearance. He was surrounded by vines, looped around his body, as though the thugs were using that as rope. He was very badly bruised, and it appeared as though he was in the middle of a severe beating. His clothes were unusual, made of dark silks. Lan-uan watched him for a moment longer, considering. Something had made him wary as he walked down this alley. Something more than just the commotion. Something he couldn't define. His eyes flicked back to the leader and his golden eyes glinted. "Old man?" He paused for a moment, and then continued. "Tell me. Why do you need so many men to take down another?" He asked mockingly.  
  
"Why you...." The leader said, his face reddening with anger. "Get him!" He ordered, pointing his sword at Lan-uan. The men closest to the intruder charged, swinging their clubs towards his head. Lan-uan made no move to stop him, instead standing there calmly watching them, one eyebrow raised as he watched them run towards him. As they neared, each swung his club hard towards the newcomer, but their weapons instead flew through empty air, and with the inertia of their charge and the force of their swings, the three thugs over balanced and went sprawling, skidding through the dirt until they came to a halt a several feet away, a knot of arms and legs. Where Lan-uan had been, there was nothing for a moment, then, with a brief flash of white light, he reappeared.   
  
"Well, I tried to be nice." the white-haired man said, before pulling the cloak and robes from his body in one quick, fluid motion. What they revealed was anything but an old man. Instead, before them stood a young man, of around age 17, with white hair, cut so that two long bangs hung down over his face; dark skin; golden eyes; and a very wild look about him. His lips were twisted into a cocky grin as he considered the thugs who had attacked the young black haired man. Another thug tried to take advantage of the transformation by attacking Lan-uan before the cloak and robe even hit the ground, but suddenly Lan-uan was two feet from where he was standing before, spinning and catching the thug in the jaw with a reverse round-house kick that made a loud cracking noise as it connected. The thug went down hard, and unconcious.  
  
Lan-uan spun back around and moved into a fighting stance, that cocky smile still on his face. "Right. Next?" He said, one hand in front of him with two fingers raised. The other thugs paused for a moment to look at each other. In less time than it took to blink, this interloper had managed to down one of them, and he wouldn't be getting back up for awhile. Obviously, this man was a skilled fighter, someone they were unused to dealing with. The thugs charged again, and Lan-uan moved again, this time disappearing and reappearing behind them. This wasn't just speed and skill he was using against them. This was something else. Something unnatural.   
  
Lan-uan leapt forward, and placed his fingers on the shoulders of each of the two thugs who charged, pressing firmly into a spot where their shoulders met their necks, and the two men dropped, unconcious. The three who had landed in a pile finally got themselves untangled and stood back up. Lan-uan was facing them, with the leader and the remaining 3 behind him. His white hair whipped around as he turned his head to the young man the bullies were previously attacking. "I'll be with you in just a moment." he said. But the young man sitting on the ground opened his eyes widely, staring at Lan-uan in shock. There was something glowing on the man's cheek! It was the kanji for 'stride.' This wasn't just an extraordinary young man. This was a seishi!  
  
Lan-uan then winked as one of the three in front of him charged, and turned back to his opponents, oblivious to the other man's shock. He took two steps forward, spinning and landing a punch in the burlier man's midsection that brought him up short and doubled him over. Then Lan-uan dropped his elbow into the back of the man's neck and he dropped like a stone. All but the leader ran forward then, realizing that the only possible way they were going to beat him was to gang up on him.   
  
"Bastard!" One yelled, as he swung his club with all his strength at Lan-uan's head, before the seishi teleported from between them. The attack struck one of his fellows hard on the side of his head and dropped him. "Pity." Said Lan-uan from behind the man. "That must've hurt." Then he kicked the thug in the back, thrusting him forward into another one of his fellows, taking them both down. Another club swung at his head, but again he wasn't where he was supposed to have been, reappearing a foot behind the swing, and as the thug lurched towards him, over balanced, he swung his leg out and tripped the man up into the prone forms of two of his fellows. "That's...what, seven?" Lan-uan asked, turning to face the remaining two.   
  
The other two dropped their clubs and took off running for the end of the alley, trying to escape. While they still had the advantage of numbers, they were too afraid to actually face Lan-uan, since he'd taken down seven of them already. Lan-uan's eyes flicked then to their leader, who stared at him for a moment, his sword raised. Then that, too, fell to the ground with a metallic clatter as the leader turned and fled.  
  
Lan-uan watched the thugs flee with a triumphant smirk on his face, before turning to the young man they had been shaking down. "Well, they're gone, but they probably will be back. Are you Ok?" He asked, reaching out to offer the man a hand up.   
  
The other man took the hand, slowly getting to his feet, moving gingerly, testing his battered body before asking too much of it. "Yes. I think I am bruised, but whole." A gentle smile appeared on his face as he regarded his rescuer. "Thank you. I am Zonye Kasaru, and I am in your debt."   
  
"Hahm Lan-uan." The white-haired man replied in kind, grinning broadly. "And you're welcome. What was that about, anyway?" He asked, taking a moment to study the man he'd rescued.  
  
Zonye Kasaru could best be described as willowy, at first glance tall and thin, appearing almost as though a strong wind would blow him over. He had long dark hair that hung loosely about his face, but was tied into a long ponytail in the back. His blue eyes blinked out at the world from behind a very gentle face, the face of a man who cared a lot about everything. And he was looking at Lan-uan with the most peculiar expression on his face. "I think it is because I am not from this city." He replied in his deep, gentle voice. "I am from Sasu."  
  
"Sasu, eh?" Replied Lan-uan, shrugging. "My master took me through there once. Nice place. Why'd you leave it to come here?" He asked, before looking back up and down the alley again. "Tell you what, you can pay me back by buying me a drink, and we'll be even. C'mon. I know a great inn around here, quiet, relaxing, and you can tell me your life story, and I can get very drunk while you do."  
  
Kasaru gave a quiet chuckle at this suggestion, and nodded. "I will, and gladly, my friend." He paused for a moment, as if debating with himself for a moment. "But first, I would ask you a question." he regarded Lan-uan carefully for a moment, then held up his hand. There, on the back of his right hand, a small symbol, "ru", glowed brightly with pure white light. "I am also known as Tatara. Who are you?"  
  
To say that this stunned Lan-uan was obvious, as his cat-like eyes flew wide. "You're.... Tatara." He said, almost wonderingly, before his shock was replaced with that perpetual grin. "Tokaki. Now, before these goons wake, let's go get drunk." He said, grabbing his cloak and robe and wrapping one around him, the other around Tatara, then throwing a companionable arm around Tatara and leading him out of the alley. "So, now I'm curious. What can you do?"  
  
"Nothing like you." Tatara responded. "You...you can teleport, right? I just...well, I can control plants. It's not much. I tried to defend myself and got tangled in my own vines." He sighed softly, remembering the looks of shock and fear on the faces of his attackers, which was quickly replaced by laughter and derision.  
  
"I'd....wondered about where they'd come from." Tokaki asked, shaking his head with a grin. "And you just need to learn how to use your abilities for fighting." He glanced at the other man again. "You don't fight much, do you?"  
  
They talked as they walked through the streets together, Tokaki steering along the many twists and turns, Tatara following. Tatara told him that he'd come to the city because he wanted to learn more about his destiny, and the priests living in Sasu only could tell him so much. He'd only been in the city for a few days, when he got lost trying to return to the inn where he was residing. He'd tried to go to the temple of Byakko as well, but had somehow managed to get lost doing that too. It wasn't that he had a poor sense of direction, it was that he'd never been in a city as large as Arudo before. His attackers jumped him as he tried to cut down a dark alley, believing the street on the other side to be the one he was looking for.  
  
As they came to the inn Tokaki was leading them to, Tatara blinked, looked up, and laughed softly. "Why, this is the place I am staying." He said, his voice filled with surprise. Tokaki laughed in response, shook his head, and lead the other man inside, picking a table in the middle of the room.   
  
The inn wasn't very crowded. In fact, it was almost empty that night, and as Tatara sat down, Tokaki took a moment to look around the room. It was an older inn, but well cared for. The tables were old, but clean and fresh, the chairs worn comfortable by years of patronage. The walls weren't split, the paper on them was new, and showed signs of being replaced often. The bar, which at the moment was empty, was smooth and clean, and the chairs in front of it were clean, their padding fresh. It wasn't the place for a wealthy merchant to stay, as the decor was plain, but for a single traveller, it was warm, comforting, and the fireplace had a roaring fire. Tatara leaned back his chair, turning and looking up at Tokaki. "Well, sit down. I'm sure the girl will be a-" He broke off, as Tokaki interrupted him.  
  
"Oka-san!" Called the white-haired man as he walked up to the bar. "Oka-san, I'm home!" He turned and flashed Tatara that roguish grin of his, before a large woman came out of the door back to the kitchen.  
  
She wasn't fat, this woman, instead her weight was matronly, her face handsome. She'd been a beauty in her youth, attracting her fair share of men. However, her life had not been easy, and she was a hard worker, and her youthful beauty had matured into the woman smiling broadly at Tokaki. "Lan-uan!" Her voice was high with excitement. "You're home early!" Suddenly though, her eyes narrowed and her face changed into a suspicious scowl. "What happened?"  
  
From his table, Tatara grinned, hiding his mouth with his hand as his blue eyes twinkled merrily to see his new friend's discomfiture. Which is about the only way that Tokaki's reaction could be described. "Weeeell..." He said, reaching up behind his head to scratch his neck, a sheepish look on his face. "Master sent me home early. He wasn't done with his training circuit yet, but he figured that it was the best place for me, right now."   
  
And his mother didn't believe a word of it. "What was her name?" She asked, eyeing her son with a hawkish glare.   
  
Defeat was evident in Tokaki's voice. "Shinobu."  
  
"And she was?"  
  
"The...." he held the word out, as if trying to delay the inevitable. "Daughter of one of the town elders?"  
  
"BAKA!" His mother exclaimed, then, as though from nowhere, a frying pan appeared, flying through the air to connect with Tokaki's head, creating a loud clanging noise. "You've never been sent home before! You must've done something really bad, baka. What was it? Why did your master send you home?" Tokaki flew across the room as Tatara just sat there, his eyes wide, watching the mother and son. Tokaki landed hard, lying there upside down for a few moments, before sitting up and holding his head, groaning. His mother then turned to Tatara and smiled politely. "Can I get you anything, Zonye-san?"  
  
Tatara could only stare, his eyes huge and round. Tokaki got to his feet then, and staggered across the room to plop down next to Tatara, leaning back into his chair and rubbing the spot on his head where his mother whacked him. "Oka-san, can we get two beers?"   
  
Tatara then raised his hand in protest. "Tea for me, please." He said, ignoring the look on Tokaki's face.   
  
"Fine, fine. Beer for me, tea for him." Tokaki replied, waving his hand airily. "So you're staying in my family's inn? That's...not a coincidence."  
  
After Tokaki's mother disappeared into the back, Tatara shook his head. "No. It's not. I picked this place because it's called the Arms of Byakko." When Tokaki's mother reappeared, he smiled in thanks. "Thank you, Hahm-san."  
  
The woman looked from her son to her paying customer as she set the drinks down on the table. "What, you two are friends?" She thought Zonye Kasaru was a much nicer boy than that.  
  
Tokaki shook his head; grinning up at his mother as he took the beer he'd ordered and took a long pull from it. "Well, we just met tonight, Kaa-san." He explained. "Tatara-kun here was being attacked by some gang of thugs, and I ran 'em off."   
  
Tatara's eyes got real wide, then narrowed, holding up his hand to Tokaki. "Lan-uan, I really don't th-" He started, but was interrupted before he could get any further.   
  
"Zonye-san! You're a seishi?" Tokaki's mother explained, her hands coming together in delight. "Why didn't you say so?" But before Tatara could have a chance to respond, she continued. "Well, that settles it. From now on, you stay here, free of charge. And you, young man, should've told me sooner. Why, I had another seishi staying under my roof all this time. When I think about what your father might've said to you holding /that/ information from me."  
  
Tatara managed to squeak a few words out at this point. "B-but, Hahm-san. I...I couldn't." While he generally was a very calm and collected youth, this much generosity overwhelmed him.  
  
Tokaki's eyes closed in an expression of mock irritation. "1Weeeeell, I just found out tonight myself." His expression changed to an impudent grin, which he then flashed at Tatara. "Yes. You can." He waved his mother off. "Oka-san, we just met, and I think I need to explain some of this stuff to him. You can mother hen him later." The white-haired lad waved imperiously, for which he received another swat to the head, but this one affectionate.  
  
"Yes, dear." His mother said, before heading for the door, turning the lock. "We're not getting any customers tonight anyway. I think it's the weather." She paused for a moment, gazing out the window. "If you hadn't found him, son, I'd probably have gone looking for him." She smiled fondly at her son, before addressing Tatara. "Now, Tatara-san, if you need anything at all, just ask him, and kick him if he refuses. I'm going upstairs. Good night, boys."   
  
Tatara, who was rather stunned at the complete change from innkeeper to mother hen that Tokaki's mother just underwent, could only stutter. "H-Hai, Arigato."  
  
"Well." Tokaki said, leaning back in his chair. "Sorry about that. My mother generally is a very sensible person. But...when it comes to seishi..." His grin became sheepish then, and he ran his hand through his hair in an embarrassed sort of way. "I think she's caught up in the legend of it all. She knows we're real people and all, but the thought that the legend is true is making the little girl in her act a little strangely."   
  
"I...see." Tatara said slowly, before smiling gently. "I'm a little...taken aback by all of it though. I mean, how...how does she know?"  
  
Tokaki's eyes twinkled merrily then, and Tatara was struck by the mobility of the man's wild face. "It's sort of hard to not notice when you're handed your newborn son, and his cheek is glowing with bright white light." He said then, reaching up to tap his cheek lightly, the symbol of 'kei' coming to life once more. "My uncle was present, since my mother wanted a monk there, and when he saw it, he knew, and told my mother what it meant. That I would one day be called upon to protect the savior of our country." His grin turned embarrassed again. "Kaa-san changed the name of the Inn the next day. That's why it's called Byakko's Rest. She's caught up in the romance of the whole thing."  
  
Despite Tokaki's rambling a little, Tatara could see that he was blushing slightly under his dark skin and white hair. "I see. Your uncle is a monk then?" He sipped gently at his tea, before smiling. "I would very much like to learn more about...the legend of the Byakko no Miko. I...the monk that kept the Shrine to Byakko in Sasu was...a wonderful, enthusiastic man, cheerful and calm. Perfect for a place like Sasu. But he only knew that when the Miko's time was near, seven people would appear throughout the land, each with a symbol of Byakko on their body. And that the Miko's coming heralded a time of great danger for all of Sairou. So I came here. Surely there must be more than that. I was hoping to learn more here."  
  
"Don't worry. I'll take you up there tomorrow. I probably should go myself and pray." He shrugged, leaning dangerously back in his chair. "Well..and visit my uncle too. Then, afterwards, I'll take you to this bar I know. It's got the prettiest serving girls in the entire country. And most scantily clad too." He dropped a wink at Tatara, who blushed.   
  
"Um...I do not think that I would enjoy a place like that." Tatara began, raising his hand. Unfortunately, Tokaki just as quickly cut him off.   
  
"Oh, no, don't worry about it. My treat. Besides, they know me there, and it's safe" replied the other man, totally oblivious to the blush on Tatara's face. "We'll have a little party. Just for us. The Byakko Shichiseishi Tokaki and Tatara!"  
  
They talked like that far into the night, and in mostly the same pattern. Tokaki would tell of some of his many exploits, and Tatara would blush and sigh. Tatara would tell of the gardens at his home in Sasu, and of Sasu and his trip to Arudo, and whenever he'd mention a woman, Tokaki would lean forward in an interested way and ask if she were pretty. Tatara would frown gently at the interruption to his story, and, with that roguish grin he affected so easily, Tokaki would lean back in his chair and gesture for Tatara to continue, a twinkle in his eye.   
  
*****  
  
Sometime during the evening, the two young men became fast friends. The next day they went to the temple, where they learned more about the legend of the Byakko no Miko. Taiitsukun gave a scroll to the first emporer of Sairou, and on that scroll, the Shi Jin Ten Chi Sho, it is written that a girl from another world would appear in Sairou, gather the seven Celestial Warriors of Byakko and summon the tiger god to save his land and his people. When the Miko appeared, it would be at a time when the country was nearing its most desparate hour. That Tatara and Tokaki had found each other, and were both Shichiseishi, it meant that the time of the Byakko no Miko would be soon.  
  
*****  
  
Far to the south of Arudo, a young woman, long revered for years and known only as the 'Fire Sage of Mt.Jikorou,' sat in her pillar of fire and dreamed. She saw the stars of Byakko fall from the sky and come to earth, dimming and separating into seven distinct points of light. Two of the seven converged upon each other, and became as one, while a third crawled slowly towards them. The land itself lay darkened, as though waiting for some great light. The world spun and twisted and then she stood in the center of the land and looked around it. To the north, east, and south, all was peaceful with the land, and the people lived in their idyllic paradise without a concern for the larger world. But when she faced the west, her eyes saw only a great darkness, that was alive and pulsated as though breathing. She saw the darkness start to devour the land, and her blood ran cold. Even living in a pillar of fire, it is still possible to awaken in a cold sweat. She screamed, once, long and loud, and then subsided, slumping wearily. From her lips, the only word that was spoken was. "Soon."  
  
*****  
  
Time passed in the land of Sairou, the country sacred to the tiger god, Byakko. Two years passed in relative peace and quiet. Relative meaning that with Tokaki as a friend, things could get rather loud. Fathers, husbands, and brothers chasing him through the streets as he ran along, gleefully outdistancing his pursuers. Tatara admonishing him gently to behave himself, and Tokaki ignoring him. Both of the young men helped out with Tokaki's parents' inn, with Tokaki training Tatara in how to use his powers to fight, and both of the young men working on learning the extent of their powers and what limits they had during their off hours. It was two years of the easy and quiet life, with occassional moments of great interruption, but overall, happy.  
  
And yet...as time passed, both young men began to grow tenser. They knew the moment of their destiny was drawing near. They never talked about it, but when they'd walk through the city, they'd catch themselves studying women separately. Each never admitted to the other that they were looking. They weren't even sure exactly what they were looking for, but that didn't stop them from looking for anyone who could possibly be Byakko no Miko.  
  
And so it happened that one day, a fall 12 years after a young boy got beaned on the head by a younger girl with a frying pan, Tokaki and Tatara were strolling through the market place together, not with any specific destination in mind, or any specific shopping list to fill, just enjoying the crowds, the sights, and the smells of a harvest time market.  
  
"Wow. It's not usually this busy, is it?" Asked Tatara, still unnerved by all these people, even after living in the city for as long as he had, he was still a quiet boy from the country at heart.  
  
"Naah. But I think the Ra Tribe is in the city today. Usually they're up near the Hokkanese border, but once a year or so, they try and get down here to get supplies. Things they can't get up there." He glanced around for a moment, before pointing at the obvious form of a woman, her head bent towards the merchant she was dealing with. "There. She's one of 'em. Nice figure."   
  
She was dressed in an outfit that was mostly cream, loose enough to stay comfortable in the heat of the desert, but gathered at the wrists and ankles. In the front, an indigo cloth hung down to her calves, trimmed in pink ribbon. The indigo front was part of a sort of vest combination that covered her chest, with the collar trimmed in satiny pink. A wide satiny pink of the same hue as her collar wrapped around her trim waist, tied off with a long, golden yellow ribbon. Her head was down, and from what Tokaki could make out, her hair was white.   
  
"Mother, I'm thinking. Grandmother, possibly, but...damn, if she is, they raise them w...." He trailed off then, his mouth going slack. The girl had just raised her hand, and turned to laugh at something another one of the merchant's customers had said. She raised her hand to her mouth coyly, coloring slightly. The man nodded his head and smiled. The woman was young. Very young. She could not be older than Tokaki himself, and was probably younger. But she was beautiful. Quite possibly the single most beautiful woman that the young man had ever laid his eyes upon.  
  
And her hair. Her hair was done up in two loops that were twisted in place on the top of her head. He'd only ever seen one girl with a hairstyle like that before in his life. Tatara, standing right next to him, waved his hand in front of his friend's face, sighing in exhasperation when he received no response. "Not again." The quiet man murmured softly. But then his head shot up sharply and he gave his friend a strange stare. This was different. For Tokaki had never known her name in advance before.  
  
"Dourin."  
  
*******  
  
END NOTE: BEHOLD! SUBARU! And I bet you were thinking she wasn't going to be in this one. And Wai! Tokaki-kun's mom! I thought about it, and I figured it would really work in the story for Tokaki's mother to be a woman who is very like a woman that Tokaki might woo. I think that may be part of the reaction and reason so many women fall so easily for Tokaki. (at least, as I see him.) He's charming, he's roguish, he likes kids...I think a lot of women believe that they can tame the wildness within him. I think his father was very much the same as he in that regard.  
  
Which, I believe, is the primary reason why she doesn't believe him for an instant.  
  
Okay, Kaze-chan and I /believe/ Jiko means either accident/trouble or self, and Rou... isn't coming up as meaning wolf, but it does, and also means labor/toil. -Jiku- on the other hand is axis/shaft.  
  
So Mt Jikurou means Shaft of Toil. Or Axis of Labor...or something like that. 


	3. Chapter 2: Her

Disclaimer: I do not own Fushigi Yuugi. If I did, I'd have a million dollars.   
  
And if I had a million dollars....  
  
I'd be rich. ^.^   
  
Yes, that was taken from Bare Naked Ladies. Which I don't own either.  
  
And, without further doodoo, chapter 2.  
  
Chapter 2: Her.7  
  
"Huh?" Tatara said, looking at his friend strangely.  
  
"I know that girl." Tokaki said, taking a slow step towards her. "When I was a boy...there was this girl. Younger than me." He pried his eyes away from the girl long enough to look back at Tatara. "She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life."  
  
Tatara waved his hand. "How many times have you said that to me in the two years we've known each other?" He asked the other man dryly.   
  
Tokaki just snorted, and then turned. "I think I'll see you later." He said, before starting towards the booth where the girl was shopping.  
  
Tatara didn't walk away yet, as he normally would have. Typically, whenever his friend went after a girl, Tatara walked off towards the Inn, to let Tokaki work on his own. The one time they'd attempted to engage a pair of young women in conversation, it ended up being very awkward and uncomfortable, as the shy Tatara was quickly overshadowed by his more charming and exuberant companion. It didn't help that Tokaki kept dragging Tatara back into the conversation when it was obvious that both girls only had eyes for the wilder looking seishi. After that time, they'd talked about it (at least, as much as possible to talk about something when Tokaki was constantly bragging about what had happened after Tatara had left) and decided that while Tatara appreciated Tokaki's efforts on his behalf, Tatara was looking for a different type of girl than the ones that Tokaki usually chased. This one, this white-haired girl standing before them, was different. Something about her made Tatara pause. Just to watch, and see what happened.  
  
"Hey there." He said, tapping the young woman on the shoulder and giving her his best smile, which did the best for his wild features, his hair blowing lightly in the breeze. It was a smile that had melted many women before, and he naturally assumed it would work now. It was the type of smile that would make mothers blush and fathers hide their daughters. "Did it hurt?"   
  
She looked at him, confusion briefly crossing her beautiful face, before her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did what hurt?" She asked him, her voice, though in the lower range for women, was still very feminine and easy on the ears. It just added, at least to Tokaki's mind, to her cuteness.  
  
"When you fell from heaven?"  
  
Her eyes got real wide for a moment, and she appeared stunned. Why, exactly, Tokaki and Tatara couldn't say until much later. Tatara figured that she just couldn't believe what she'd just heard. He was about to step forward, grab his friend, and haul him away while apologizing profusely, but before he could do that, the girl reacted.  
  
For the rest of their very, very long lives, neither Tatara or Tokaki could be certain just where the frying pan had come from. It's possible that they just failed to observe that she had it, or even that Byakko had given it to her for just such a purpose. Whereever she got it from, she put it to good use, swinging it around hard...right into Tokaki's skull.  
  
The helpless seishi flew across the road landed hard against a wall, before slumping down it, momentarily stunned. Tatara followed the flight of his friend with a shocked expression, before turning back to Dourin. "...Wow." He said softly before shaking his head. "I'd never thought I'd ever see that." He held up both of his hands frantically as the girl then whirled on him, frying pan still gripped threateningly. "No, no, it's Ok. I'm....not like him." He pointed at the dazed Tokaki. "I'm T...Zonye Kasaru. That's Hahm Lan-uan. I...apologize if he offended you." Tatara kept his voice gentle, and his hands held outward.  
  
She glanced at Tatara for a moment, then looked back at the crumpled form of Tokaki. "Gomen..Z..Zonye-san" She said then, smiling sheepishly and running a hand along her white hair. "I....guess I over-reacted."  
  
"No......" Tatara said, drawing the word out for a long moment, turning to look at Tokaki himself. "I would have to say that he has had that coming to him for a long, looooong time now." He chuckled then. "Actually....it is kind of funny, when you think about it. I've never seen that happen before."  
  
The semi-concious seishi groaned as his vision began to clear. "Damnit, woman." He muttered in irritation. "Did you have to do that to me again?" Slowly, cautiously, he started to right himself. "I think you gave me a concussion."  
  
"I think she'd have to hit you a lot harder than that to give you a concussion, my friend." said Tatara quietly, before offering his friend a helping hand to his feet.  
  
The girl watched the two friends for a moment, then tilted her head to the side, frowning at the man she'd hit with the frying pan. "Ano...what do you mean, 'again'?" She asked, distrust plainly evident in her voice.  
  
Tokaki winced again as he got to his feet, one hand reaching up to gently touch the knot forming on his skull. "Ugh." He said, before turning his attention to the woman responsible for said knot. "Your name is Dourin, right?"  
  
Dourin's eyes widened in surprise. "H-hai, but how did you-?"  
  
"Know?" He finished for her. "Easy. Do you remember getting left at an old lady's when you were a kid? While your parents were in the market? About...say 12 years ago?"  
  
"I remember coming to the city, but I don't rem...." She paused for a moment as the memory replayed itself in her mind, and then scowled as a grin spread across his face. "You were that boy, weren't you? The one that I hit with the little skillet my mom'd bought me."  
  
Tatara, who at this point was looking from one to the other incredulously, asked. "Wait, you mean you two actually do know each other?" Then he psused   
  
Wincing in pain as he continued to rub the knot on his head. "Yeah." Tokaki responded, his voice dry. "She whacked me then too."  
  
"And I wouldn't have if you weren't trying to see up those girls' skirts. What kind of person does that, huh?" She asked, brandishing the frying pan again. "And how did you know it was me?"  
  
"Easy." Replied Tokaki, his smile coming more easily as his headache started to abate, though he winced periodically when he pressed too hard. "You had the same hairstyle. And you're still just as beautiful when you're an-." He cut his sentence off as her knuckles whitened on the frying pan handle. "Er. Yeah. Hairstyle, that's how I knew." His smile started to falter.  
  
"If you hit him again, Dourin-san, he really will have a concussion." The quiet voice startled both of them, as they'd been so intent on watching the other (though for entirely different reasons) that they'd forgotten about Tatara. "And..." He paused awkwardly for a moment, before continuing. "Lan-uan...how old were you then? Eight?"  
  
"I was an early bloomer." The white-haired man responded, grinning at Tatara before continuing. "What can I say? Ouch." He winced, this time worse than the others, as he gave the knot on his head an experimental prod and did it just a little too hard.   
  
"Oh, of all the...." Dourin started, before stepping closer to the man she'd injured. "Here. Let me see. And stop rubbing at it. It'll just get worse if you don't, baka."  
  
******  
  
From that day on, Dourin found herself often running into one or the other of the young men that she met that day as she ran her errands around the city, occassionally to her annoyance. (If it was Tokaki she ran into, anyway.) While she enjoyed talking to Kasaru, and would genuinely miss him when her tribe once more rolled up their tents to wander back into the desert, every time she ran into Lan-uan, she genuinely hoped that her parents were considering packing up soon. For some reason, just the sight of his white head annoyed her to no end. More often than not, their meetings ended with him being whacked into a nearby wall with something heavy. If it hadn't been for the fact that she'd seen him in the company of other women, she'd think he was obsessing dangerously over her, which was something she did not want him to do at all. There were even days that she'd leave her parents' company, start walking through the city, and every time she saw a flash of white and gold, she'd whip around, afraid that he'd found her. There was just something about him that she couldn't explain. Something that drove her crazy. She couldn't explain it, either, because she didn't hate Lan-uan, and he could sometimes be a very amusing and charming companion, easy with a joke and generous with his time and money. He just...annoyed her. Maybe it was because of the way the elderly couples would see the two behaving and nod in that knowing fashion that drove her insane. Maybe it was how..indestructible he seemed to her rather violent rebuffs. Whatever it was, the two of them together was generally an explosive combination.  
  
But when she ran into the gentle Kasaru, she would often go out of her way to spend time with him. He seemed comfortable, somehow. Like a close relative. Someone you could trust and let your guard down near. They would run into each other, and he'd then change his steps to match hers, and they'd talk, quietly. Part of her was afraid that she was going to fall for him, this quiet, pale young man with the long black hair. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, rather that she was afraid for him. He seemed too frail, to gentle, for the long, hard, though peaceful life of the nomadic tribe in which she lived, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to give up that nomadic life for him.  
  
At least, she was afraid she might fall for him, until the day he brought her to the Inn where he lived. She'd been in the city for close to a month, and had even started warming to Lan-uan, who had, at least, stopped hitting so blatantly on her, having finally realized that what he used on a lot of the women he spent time with certainly wasn't going to work on her. The three had, sometime in between the severe beatings for Lan-uan because of the the blatant come-ons and the laughter and fun that the trio shared while walking throught he city, visiting gardens, or the shrine to Byakko, become friends, and they thought their lives idyllic. But all that changed the day that Kasaru brought her to the Inn where he lived.  
  
She never forgot that day either. For that was the day that everything changed for her. That was the day that everything changed for all of them.  
  
******  
  
"Why are we here?" She asked, turning her head to look at Kasaru, smiling.  
  
"Because I live here." he responded. "And...work here too, I guess you could say, although the Hahm family is too generous to ask me to work." He gave the girl one of his gentle, patient smiles, and then pushed open the door and walked inside.  
  
Dourin could only smile in response, though there was something about the family he'd mentioned that set her on guard. But in the end, she just shrugged, and followed him inside. She paused just past the door to look around. "I do like the name." She said softly.   
  
The Inn was well kept, that much was certain. Nothing was new, but it was clean, smelled fresh, and the tables and chairs were in good repair. The place seemed homey somehow, inviting. The bar that ran the length of the room bore the recent marks of a fresh cleaning, and the glasses and pitchers were stacked neatly. Light streamed into the room through the open windows, illuminating dust particles through the room. Along the windowsill sat a row of pots, each of them holding a small plant, though upon further inspection, it could be noticed that the plants growing in them were not usually this healthy so late in the year. It was still early in the day, so the place was completely empty. Empty, that is, save for one person, pushing a broom across the floor, whistling idly to himself, his unusual white hair tied back with a headband as he worked.  
  
She frowned when she saw him across the room, sweeping the floor, as it meant that she would probably have to deal with some lame pass or other. "Why is he here?" She asked sharply, turning her head to glare at Kasaru. Now she knew why something about the family that owned the inn had made her pause. Because Lan-uan's family name was Hahm. "You mean he owns this place?"  
  
"No." Kasaru replied. "His mother does. But I promise he'll behave himself." Said her gentle friend, smiling as he tilted his head towards the white-haired young man sweeping the floor. "Besides. His mother owns the place. If he doesn't behave himself...you'll be the least of his worries." He winked at Dourin then, and then went behind the bar to start fixing some drinks.  
  
"Well." Dourin turned then, and found those golden yellow eyes fixed on her. "Nice to see you too." Lan-uan commented dryly, before glancing over at Kasaru. "Hey, Kasaru-kun. Ka-san wanted you to go down to that one store and get her some hops. I know you've got company, but...." He paused for a moment, and the dark skin of his face darkened even further for a moment. "...they won't let me in there anymore."  
  
"Wonder why." Kasaru commented, his quiet voice filled with sarcasm.  
  
"I told you she told me she was sixteen." muttered Lan-uan in response.  
  
Dourin followed this exchange for a moment, her head moving back and forth from one man to the other, though she frowned every time she looked at Lan-uan. When she realized that Kasaru may be leaving, she took a step towards him. "We just got here, and we're leaving?" She wasn't going to stay with the perv.  
  
"I won't be long. I'll leave you with a drink and Hahm-san's club. He's afraid of the club. About the only thing he is afraid of, really." While the voice was gentle, the response of the man sweeping the floor made it clear that this was a long standing joke. "Just whack him if he gets out of line."  
  
Lan-uan only scowled in response, and went back to his sweeping. From his poise and the sudden vigorous way he started in on the floor, it was clear that he was sulking like a child, and it looked so comical. Dourin couldn't believe her eyes, and Kasaru was still chuckling as he left.  
  
After he left, Dourin sat at one of the tables, the club in front of her as she sipped lightly at the glass of wine that Kasaru had given her, watching Lan-uan warily. He glanced at her from time to time, but was, this time, content to finish going about preparing the Inn for business that night, or so it seemed. He may have been watching her in any reflective surface the bar contained. 'Maybe he really is afraid of the club.' She thought, grinning to herself. Time passed in this manner for some time. A few hours later, a couple of men came in, and sat down not far from where Dourin was watching Lan-uan. He stopped cleaning then, and moved behind the bar.   
  
She watched him for some time, the scowl on her face fading as time passed. As the Inn filled up, Lan-uan changed from irrepressible pervert to polite businessman. He moved with a fluid grace, always where he was needed, refilling a mug or bringing out a second order of noodles. He had an easy laugh and dangerous grin that made the few women in the bar blush, (and the scowl return to Dourin's face) and the men laugh knowingly. He also seemed to have an uncanny knack to knowing when and who had had enough to drink, giving no ground to the few who'd drunk too much too fast. Any that got rowdy were ejected from the Inn with a firm hand and a speed that Dourin couldn't believe. She wasn't cold sober, as he'd been by a couple of times to refill her drink and offer her food...and get threatened by the club, too. But even what alcohol she had drank couldn't mean that her senses had slowed that much. There was something..odd about the quickness in which he moved.   
  
As the evening passed, one particularly rowdy drunk got thrown out of the Inn physically, after making a snide comment about girls who sit by themselves. The comment is not illustrated here because it's not something one would normally say in polite society. Even his drinking companions looked shocked. He was face first in the dirt before Dourin realized that the guy was probably talking about her, because she was the only woman in the inn by herself. She sat up a little straighter then, as the drunk didn't feel as though he'd been treated well, and decided to stand outside the Inn, loudly casting aspirations on her and Lan-uan that were vulgar, crude, and totally without merit.   
  
She was at the door before she realized she had the club in her hand, arm raised, as though to leap outside and attack the man, who was actually cringing, so terrible was the look upon her face. Before she could react, however, a dark skinned hand closed firmly over her wrist. "He's a drunk." Came the smooth voice. "Don't do anything you're going to regret later."  
  
She turned her head to see the golden yellow eyes of Lan-uan fixed on hers, glittering strangely in the light. Her body relaxed for a moment, then tensed again, this time as she pushed the pervert away from her, and wrenched her arm from his grasp. "Leave me alone." She said, before stomping back to her table, totally aware that those eyes were still on her, watching her. She scowled at the rest of the Inn's common room, and a lot of people went hurriedly back to their drinks. "I wonder what's keeping Kasaru-san." She muttered to herself.  
  
"He's not usually gone this long," A quiet voice said in her ear, its amusement plain. "I've been sneaking out to look for him as often as I can, but he's nowhere to be found. Hope he didn't stop to pick up any more girls." She didn't need to look to see who it was, although how he got behind her so quietly was a mystery in itself.  
  
"Maybe you've got him confused with yourself, baka." She said then, shooting her elbow backwards, smiling smugly as she was rewarded with a loud oofing noise.   
  
"I think you enjoy causing me pain." Lan-uan said in a pained voice, huffing slightly as he tried to regain the breath she stole from him.   
  
"And I'm starting to think you like it when I do!" She shot back, turn turned to the door as it was flung open hard, her hair whipping around as she did.  
  
There stood Kasaru, bent over almost double, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. "I've found her! I've found her!" He said when he'd regained his breath. "The legends are true! They're real! She's here!" he exclaimed loudly, his green eyes bright with almost childlike excitement. His long dark hair was arrayed in a mess behind him. "You need to come with me!" He leapt forward, his hand wrapping around Lan-uan's wrist. "She needs our help. I think she broke her leg in the fall."  
  
Lan-uan didn't move. "What? Fall? In Byakko's name, Kasaru, calm down, take a deep breath, and tell me just what the HELL you're talking about?" He said, exhasperated. "You've met a girl? No wonder it took you so long to get back here." There is a brief pause. "And here I thought you didn't go for the sort of girl who lives in that part of town."  
  
Kasaru frantically shook his head. "No, you big perverted idiot." He shot back at his friend. "THE girl. The one? Remember?" He glanced at Dourin for a moment, and then back at Lan-uan. "I know we've talked about this...how you can be so thick-headed is beyond me."  
  
"It's a special talent I have." Lan-uan, too, glanced at Dourin and then back at Kasaru. "But I can't really leave. The Inn and all. And my mother isn't here, remember? She went to go visit her sister."  
  
"But this is important!" Kasaru said then, frowning. "This is-"  
  
"I know what it MIGHT be." Lan-uan responded, shaking his head, indecision warring within him for a moment. "Oh, hell. I'd better go, because even if you're wrong, I still want to meet the girl that has you acting like this." Then he turned, and addressed the Inn at large. "I have to go out." he said, giving each of the patrons a stern look. "I will be back. I know where most of you live. Keep that in mind. C'mon, Kas-kun." He said then, and the two men left the Inn.  
  
They moved quickly through the city after leaving the Inn and Lan-uan started to frown as the buildings got poorer around them. "This is not the best section of town." Lan-uan said quietly. "And you just left her here?" He said, running after Kasaru. "Wait." He skidded to a halt. "Where did you leave her?" He asked. "And how did you even meet her....no, just tell me where you left her."  
  
At that precise moment, a scream rent the air, not very far away, but one that set both men running again, Kasaru first, and Lan-uan following behind. "Where is she!?" Lan-uan called again.  
  
"She's over by that one bar you frequent so much. The one that's by that warehouse?" replied Kasaru. "I had to leave her there, she hurt her leg. It may be broken."  
  
Lan-uan skidded to a halt again. "Oh, Sweet merciful Byakko...you left her by a BROTHEL?" He said then, giving his friend stunned look before he disappeared, reappearing next to the running man. "Time to speed this up a bit." Then they both vanished in a flash of white light.  
  
*************  
  
Meanwhile, back at the inn, Dourin was left holding the club, sitting at the table, staring after the door that swung crazily for a moment in the wake of the two departing men. "Sheesh. The quiet one finds a girl, and they both go nuts. I don't want to know." She murmured to herself, before turning back towards her table and her drink.  
  
For about five minutes, anyway. "Oh, Byakko help me, I really do want to know!" She exclaimed, then slipped out of her seat and left the inn, darting off in the direction she saw the two boys run in.  
  
**************  
  
"No, no, get off me! I'm not a...a...one of those kinds of girls! Get off! Leave me alone!" said a young girl wearing strange clothing, as she tried to push past and through the men as best she could. She couldn't get very far, as her body was slight and her leg was injured. "Help! Someone help me!" She cried then, as one of the men wrapped a meaty hand around her wrist, pulling her backwards. "Aaaaiiee!!!" She screamed.  
  
The men just laughed. "Sure, honey. That's why you were sitting outside this bar." One said, grinning to reveal a mouthful of bad teeth. "Good idea you had, dressing up in those unusual clothes. Shows just enough skin without giving away too much." He leered as his friends and they all grinned knowingly. So intent were they on their prey, that they failed to notice a sudden eruption of white light behind them.  
  
"She's not for sale." Came a hard voice behind them, and they all turned their heads to find the owner of the voice. All they saw were two men, one fair of skin but dark of hair, the other having dark skin but white hair. It was clearly the white haired man who'd spoken. While both men wore stern expressions on their face, the other stood a little to the rear, so clearly, he was not the leader. Or so it seemed to the thugs, anyway. "Let her go." Spoke the same voice, and all the mens' eyebrows went up as they realized it was indeed the dark-haired man who had spoken.  
  
Someone laughed. "Oh yeah? And just how do you plan to make us?" Said one man, the largest of the group, stepping forward. "It seems to me that there are 10 of us, and only two of you. Let us have this whore, you can get one inside, and live through the night."  
  
The white-haired man spoke then, grinning wildy, his strangely colored eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight. "And if we should refuse to do that?" He said then, his fists coming up and his body crouching into a fighter's stance. "I ask merely for information."  
  
"Then we're probably going to kill you, and take her anyway." Said the largest man, clearly the leader balling one of his massive hamlike fists and raising it, one finger then extending to point at the pair of interlopers. The other men just leered at each other and at the struggling girl that their leader held. "Get 'em!" He called out then, pointing at the two young men.  
  
"Good." The white haired man turned slightly to look at his friend. "Ready?" He asks, and, upon receiving a nod from his companion, he disappeared in a burst of white, just as the thugs charged forward.  
  
The men stopped short, overbalancing as they tried to figure out where the white-haired one had gone. "Where the hell'd he go?" One snarled, looking from left to right.  
  
"Where he went is the least of your worries." Said the dark-haired, quiet man, drawing the attention of their attackers, and they gasped in shock. The young man who had previously looked so frail was surrounded by a soft white-blue light, one hand outstretched in front of him, a tiny seed held in his palm. As they watched, the seed exploded, expanding rapidly into a long, thorny tendril, and his hand closed around it.  
  
"Ten against two." Came the voice of the white haired man again, this time from the middle of the group of thugs. "This hardly seems fair." A smirk appeared on his face as he lashed out with one hand straight, catching one man hard on the side of the neck, dropping him. "I mean, really. You guys don't stand a chance." Before the men could turn and attack him, he was gone again, reapparing next to the guy with the vines.  
  
"Hey, wait, what in Byakko's name are you guys?" Someone asked. The only reaction from the two men was that the white-haired one turned to the dark haired one and grinned toothily. Then, as one, they leapt forward into the fray.  
  
*****  
  
Dourin almost caught up to them as they stopped, apparently having a brief argument. Then she heard the scream, and turned towards it. When she looked back at her two friends, they were gone. She paused a moment, blinking her eyes. "They...are fast." She murmured softly, but then she took off running in the direction of the scream. "Maybe that's where they went. Kasaru-san did mention something about a girl."   
  
She made her way quickly through the streets, running as fast as she could. Many years later, she never was quite certain just how she knew where she was going. But at the time, all she did was follow her feet, which seemed to know exactly where they were going. And a few minutes after the fight started, she arrived. It didn't take her long to figure out what was going on, as she could see the strangely dressed girl being held by a very evil looking person. And between her and the girl there was-  
  
Wait, just what was going on here? She could see Kasaru and Lan-uan, but they were...glowing? She reached up with one hand and rubbed at her eyes, then opened them again.  
  
The glow was still there. 'What in Byakko's na-', she thought, before she saw it. Once she did, all previous thoughts she'd had before were derailed. There it was as clear as day. In fact, it was just as bright as a desert day could be. There, on Lan-uan's cheek, the symbol 'kei' glowed brightly for the world to see. 'In Byakko's name...' she thought to herself. 'How appropriate. They're seishi. SEISHI!' Her glee was difficult to contain. At least for right now. Then the enormity of what she was seeing sunk in.   
  
'Oh, No! That means I can't get away from Lan-uan!'  
  
*****  
  
Meanwhile, the fight was going badly for anyone without seishi powers. Tokaki reached out and dropped one man just by touching him in the ribcage. Tatara lunged after one man with his thorn vine and flung him into the air, sending him crashing back down to the earth thirty feet away. By this point, there were only two men and their leader still standing. The leader wasn't fighting, instead he was gripping the girl's arm, and as each man fell, his grip got stronger.  
  
"What the hell are you fools doing? C'mon! Get up! These two punks should be easy for you!"  
  
"Sorry, boss, but they ain't human! Look at '-urk!" One cried, right before he received a vine whip around his neck, yanking him across the street and into a building. The last of his men took one more look at the young white-haired man, his body glowing faintly, with a symbol on his cheek, completely untouched, and somehow able to move faster than the eye could see. The other, glowing as well, holding a whip made of vines that he'd grown right in front of them. He then did what any sensible person would do. He turned and ran as fast as he could, screaming.  
  
"Now." said Tokaki, his eyes shifting their focus from the fleeing man to the leader of the pack, who was still holding the strangely dressed girl. "How about you let her go, and walk away?" He asked, one eyebrow lifting in query as he regarded the burly man, his hands and body still holding his fighter's stance.   
  
"You little punk!" The man yelled, flinging the girl from him and leaping toward's Tokaki, shoulders lowered, as though to body check the man. Tokaki didn't move, just stood there, waiting. And then, at the last moment, Tokaki appeared to slide to the side, so quickly and precisely did he teleport, and brought his elbow crashing down on the back of the gang-leader's neck. A slight choking noise could be heard, and there was a brief flash of metal. Then the man hit the ground hard, unconcious.  
  
"There." Tokaki said then, straightening and clapping his hands together smugly, dusting them off. But as he did this, his face started to rapid drain of color. He opened his eyes and look down. Sticking out of his stomach was a knife. A knife that none of them had seen that the now unconcious leader had even had. He reached down, his hands wrapping weakly around the hilt, and he lifted his head to look at Tatara. "Oh."  
  
"Tokaki!" He cried out, leaping for his friend as his legs started to give out. He crumpled to the ground, his head landing in Tatara's lap. "You...idiot!" Was all the quiet man could say.  
  
The girl they had saved limped forward slowly and sunk to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she faced her saviors. "Oh." She said softly, her accent strange. "Oh, no. No..." For though they had saved her, at what cost did it come? "I am...so sorry."  
  
"Not your fault." Tokaki said softly, a pained grin still on his face. In as much as it's possible to grin impishly while your life is ebbing away, that is what Tokaki was now doing. "'D've done it anyway, even'f I knew this would happen. You're pretty cute." He glanced up at Tatara. "This's gonna make things hard now, Tatara-kun. W'need all seven."  
  
"Damnit, Tokaki, you're not going to die!" Tatara said, reaching to pull the dagger from Tokaki.  
  
"No. He's not." Came a new voice. A clear, familiar voice. Almost as one, three pairs of eyes turned to look as a figure emerged from the shadows. She was dressed strangely, in the low cut, flowing garments that many of the desert tribes wore. The colors were very bright, with pinks and yellows and blues that clung enticingly to her figure. But the most unusual thing about the woman was her hair. As white as Tokaki's, it was done up at the top of her head in two loops, one on each side. Bracelets hung from her wrist, and they clinked as she walked towards them.   
  
"Ah. Dourin-chan." said Tokaki softly, closing his eyes as she kneeled beside him. "I'm glad I get to see the most beautiful woman in all of the Four Lands one last time."   
  
"You really are an idiot, you know that?" She responded shortly. "You're not going to die." She toke hold of the knife handle, gripping it with both hands. Her eyes closed, and to Tatara's and the foreign girl's shock, she began to glow...and that glow was centered on her chest, just above her left breast. "Time Turn Tokaki's Body To This Point Yesterday." She said, pulling the knife out.  
  
Tatara and the girl gasped in awe, and Tokaki's eyes opened as color returned to his face, and the twinkle returned to his eyes. Even the blood on his clothes disappeared, and his breathing became deeper, stronger. He sat up then, and stared at Dourin. "What in Byakk-" he started to ask, then broke off as he saw the white light around Dourin. "Y-you're a Seishi?" He asked, incredulous.  
  
She nodded, the knife slipping from her fingers as she slumped slightly, taking a deep breath. "Hai. I am also known as Subaru." She pulled her clothing down briefly just enough to show the symbol of 'Ko' flaring briefly to life on her left breast. She looked up and smiled at Tatara. "You're Tatara." She readjusted her clothing, and then slapped Tokaki's face. Not that he'd said anything, or really, even SAW anything. But his knowing smirk was enough.  
  
"Hey!" exclaimed the recently healed seishi. What was that f-umph!"  
  
The quiet man nodded, clapping his hand over his friend's mouth. "Hai. And this melodramatic fool here is Tokaki." He said this while grinning at the comical dark look on his friend's face. Then the three friends turned to look at the girl they had rescued.  
  
She looked back and forth from one to the other, awed, relieved, and, at the same time, completely confused and frightened. "I'm....Oosugi. Oosugi Suzuno."  
  
**********  
  
Whoo! Suzuno has arrived! And for those of you who read this story, Chapter 3 is already started!  
  
Sorry about the delay too. Too much FFXI does not time allow. Or something.  
  
And yes, in the tradition of great authors comes...Fushigi Akugi!  
  
Tokaki: OI! Author person! How come I didn't score with Subaru yet?  
  
Subaru: . *whacks Tokaki into the next century*  
  
Author: .  
  
Tokaki: *innocently* What'd I do? 


End file.
